Once was an A.P.E. Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia
By gmj3191 on 29-May-21. Waypoint GC9C0VK

I needed a non-trad today and I was headed over this way so this seemed like a good option. Found the coordinates before I headed out and it was a nice easy find at GZ. I took the opportunity to do the adlab in the park, but saved the bonus for another day when I might need a non-trad. TFTC!

Quick little puzzle then a short walk to GZ to claim this one.

Knowing I was going to be in this area for work, I sat down and was surprised when I was able to solve this one remotely. Still went to the GZ, to double check my answers.Never being able to sit on a solved puzzle for long, this was my target for tonight's geocaching adventure. Got there with the sun low on the horizon and Waytle Park seems to be a busy area. Solved the Adventure Lab while walking thru the area and collected this geocache on my exploration. Thanks for the cache, GMJ 3191.Hunter

Love this park so much, have many memories of coming here as a kid for family picnics. Thanks so much for bringing me back here !

We only got into caching after the A.P.E. caches were no more (although I do remember going to the premier of Plantet of the Apes in Sydney (my friend got tickets)). What an amazing thing to have one of those caches in Melbourne! I do admire you placing this cache. We found WP1 quickly enough and found some eggs on the ground. I suspect they were fakes, but you can never be too certain, so we left them well alone. A qui k walk had us at GZ. I found the appropriate tree while the geokids climbed another one and all was good. No problems here. TFFC.

A nice quick multi. Loved reading about the cache history!

There wasnt a pine tree in sight

I'm fairly keen to collect an A.P.E.; it's definitely on the list (along with the cactus attribute). After puzzling the coords for a while, I did some math and decided I could skip WP1 and go directly to GZ. At GZ, I was heading to another tree before reading the hint and changing tack. I spotted the exposed cache and was signing the log in seconds. I lightly covered the cache up with some fresh pine and made my way out of the treeline. Cheers for the short multi - these are the best!

Put in about half an hour search, re-checked co-ords but no luck today

6 April 2024 10:31amOut and about today for a quick geocaching adventure before a major tournament today in box Hill for my card game. So why not pick up some caches in a park that I have wanted to visit for a while now. So boots on and avoiding the rain I quickly found the caches I wanted and moved on. Thanks for the cache and the little adventure.

*** draft log for stats tracking, more later ***GC9C0VK Once was an A.P.E.26 March 2024T17:36:24 AEDTTFTC gmj3191Quick calculate, quick find, cool container.

During our weeks trip with Bare Foot Guru, Infoferret and Trinity to the Canberra Mega we logged as a combination of "BFG, CF, BIC, BITC" depending on who we were caching with at the time. The trip took us on a flight to Melbourne first, then a drive to Canberra, followed by a drive to Sydney before flying out again. Where possible I will add commentary to each find about the cache. Thanks for all the caches, hides and effort put into hiding and maintaining them.Easy find at base of tree. Interesting read about the APE cache too.. Don't yet have one of those types...

26 March 2024 17:36 TFTC gmj3191 for placing this cache, number 13814 for me. I was fortunate enough to visit the tunnel of light APE cache a couple of years ago, so it was great to see a bit more of the history of that series.I would like to show my respect and acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Land, and their continuing connection to it. I wish to pay my respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past, present and emerging.

Fitting location for a Planet of the Apes cache. Theyd love it here (we did). Yet another chapter in the franchise is due out this year. Long live the Apes.

Nice, easy find. All in good condition. TFTC

This container was difficult for me to close I had to mess around with it for a while

A nice simple multi, thanks. Managed to dodge the rain showers too.

Great to find an APE cache.....pity it's not a real one. Still a lovely place for a wander. TFTC

Awesome to learn some of the history of the APE caches, thanks for the find Geoff!

Chook travelled down to Melbourne this weekend for a uni reunion, so of course some caching was planned as well. She joined forces with her long time muggle friend 'FM' and today we went for our routine walk in Wattle Park before Chook had to head back home to Western Vic. Last time we caught up and did this walk, the cache was disabled due to the works that were being undertaken in this park. Boy they have certainly done some major works here, with many of the paths having had a complete upgrade to a wide smooth flat surface. During our walk Chook chatted to FM about the history of the A.P.E. caches and the one that went missing here in Wattle Park in the very early days of geocaching. It is certainly worthy to have a cache here now to highlight this story. No problems with finding the info needed to get to the final cache, and all was good there too. TFTC gmj3191.

What a shame the original ape cache only ever had 14 finds!Full log to follow

We were in the area doing the adventure labt here but we're not going to go and leave the others in this par, . especially this one with all the history attached to it. We really appreciated the information on the cache page and the links to the original hide. Unfortunately we knew nothing of APE caches, they were well before our time and are now on the bucket list, we certainly would like to find one in the wild.This one turned into a nice simple multi we worked out a set of numbers and headed off to gz for a short search before the container was located and the logbook now contains our name and then everything was returned as it was. Many thanks gmj3191 for this cache.

Not sure how I missed this the first time, but today it took just a moment. TFTC and adventure.

Its a shame the two remaining project ape caches are on different continents. Who knows if I will ever get to find them. At least I got to find this cache though. Thank you gmj3191 for placing and maintaining Once was an A.P.E. for us to find today.

It has always been a dream of mine since I started caching to find [Mission 4: Southern Bowl (GCC67)](https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCC67) and with [Mission 9: Tunnel of Light (GC1169)](https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1169) being found again I have added it to my bucket list as well.But with those caches being far, far away, this one was a nice constellation prize. I needed to find a multi cache today in order to fill in a missing calendar date for [ahombug's](https://www.geocaching.com/p/?guid=1ded3729-fe62-40bb-9f5f-fd559e7163b1&wid=6dbc178e-cf55-4705-a97f-435a7b7e6997&ds=2) [WCW - 50% Multi Calendar Challenge (GC9Z58Z)](https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC9Z58Z).Well I had an appointment in the area today and after it finished I decided to have a look to see what nearby multi caches I still had unfound. So I opened up [Cachly](https://www.cachly.com/) and when I spotted this one I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. I only wish I could have seen [Mission 8: Wattles Edge (GC1058)](https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1058) that would have been truely amazing, but this one was fun too.So after my appointment I hopped into the geomobile and made my was to the [recommended parking coordinates](https://www.geocaching.com/seek/wpt.aspx?WID=0cc66023-325b-4ef6-8138-d3da5e6f03eb&RefID=7f02d4a6-7755-4482-82fb-0404209c54d2&RefDS=1).The weather was perfect for caching today. It was actually a little bit cool, but sill very sunny. It was a lovely little walk over to the posted coordinates. Once I arrived I did my best to estimate the height of the tree, however when I really started to look at the maths equation to work out the coordinates for GZ it really only seemed liked one number could be possible.So I quickly calculated the coordinates for GZ and made my way over to GZ. I was able to spot the likely beacon on my approach to GZ. However, there were a few muggles out enjoying the lovely weather, so I had to wait a bit before the coast was clear.However, eventually I was able to start my search and after a bit eventaully I spotted the well hidden cache.A big thanks goes to [gmj3191](https://www.geocaching.com/p/?guid=b4585843-0564-409a-aee2-b35dc0e22ecf&wid=7f02d4a6-7755-4482-82fb-0404209c54d2&ds=2) for the fun little multi. I can't wait to be able to find one of the offical APE caches someday! TFTC.**Cache Maintenance Status**The cache container was in good shape and the logbook was clean and dry with plenty of room for future cache finders to sign.

Suscoe was in Melbourne today for a caching trip.We were working our way from Kew to Mitcham and back to Box Hill.It was a lovely sunny day with mild temperatires.We found a terrific range of caches and enjoyed exploring so many new locations.Thanks to gmj3191 for this interesting cache and we enjoyed sorting out the hide location and finding it in this delightful area.

I forgot to log this one. I also don't know why I failed to find it the first time I looked. Lovely walk through the park. tftc

Out and about with Astrobef we decided to have some lunch in the park and collect some caches. At WP1 there was a Hmmm moment, I think the guesstimate for N is a little out so maybe use 1 less than you would think it is. Once we decided to reduce our N we had a good set of coords. We wander off and soon had the cache in hand. Log signed and safely returned. TFTC

Fun multi. No major problems here today. TFTC

Using Tra4ce as a measuring stick we got the coords quickly, fun walk and find! Tftc!

Out and about on a beautiful Spring day. At the published co-ords, I made my estimate. No, that can't be right. n * 4 was too big. So was (n-1)*4, so n - 2 it was. So if that Y junction is just over n metres high, then I must be around 3 metres tall. Hmmm. Anyway, the number for n was obvious so I then headed to my calculated GZ for a quick find. I may need to lend the CO a long tape measure!



Thanks to gmj3191 for the cache.

Found on our Fathers Day adventure! Tftc

A quick find here today, had to gind for a sneakygeokids project

This was a nice quick multi .. took longer than expected because at WP1 there was a family of Rosellas in the tree. It’s always interesting to watch their antics. I made a quick calculation hoping I had the right tree and made my way to GZ. The cache was well hidden but an easy find for a geocacher, all in good condition. Thank you gmj3191 for hiding the cache and sharing nome information on the early days of geocaching

Interesting historical facts about geocaching. Imagine the FTF frenzy! An easy to discover quick multi that took us to snippets of this lovely old park, which brings back childhood memories of picnics and play.TFTC gmj3191

Today I was out with Manfred between his groom and a five year old party, so I thought we would find a cache for our steak. An APE cache no less! Thank you for placing this cache near an interesting spot as far as the history of geocaching is concerned, gmj3191

Woof woof. TFTC gmj3191. I found with my mum beckNmonts

On our way home from the middle child’s place in Box Hill with the youngest a captive audience in the car with me…(who am I kidding! He quickly took control of my car’s entertainment system via his phone and I found myself listening to pirate heavy metal, well at least it wasn’t death metal I guess)….I called in here in the hope he’d come with me for a walk….after all I just took him out for Korean BBQ….I am deluded obviously….”Are you geocaching mum?”….”well, maybe just one…” was met with a very definite “Nup, enjoy” so I left him to listen to his favs, Alestorm and off I went on my own….we had already deduced the numbers so off I went to what I hoped was GZ. After a soggy walk chastising myself about taking I’ll advised shortcuts and finding and sticking to the path on the way back it wasn’t long before I reached quite an impressive tree and was quite quickly signing the cache. On my way back to the car I decided I definitely had to torture him with one more since he was so adamant he wouldn’t come with me for a simple walk and heaven help him, a conversation!
Thanks gmj3191, we do hope one day to sign an actual Ape cache….every time we’ve been to Snoqualamie the Ape cache has been MIA.

Feel like those trees are huntsman central but I got under there

I came here today with Pilot, my canine caching companion. This side of the park was new to us, and we enjoyed our walk, gathering the required data, and calculating coords for GZ.
We located the cache, in excellent condition.
Thanks for the fun, gmj3191.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we find ourselves in Camberwell for hockey training. Tonight it's my older daughter's team training. The other 2 siblings train on the other days. It is a bit of a drive for us having changed teams from a our local area, to this one a little way out but it's to give my kids better opportunities that our last club did not offer.

On the drive home, we stopped by here to grab the cache.
I was supposed to go to the US of A for the Geocaching HQ Mega few years ago and had planned to go and find an A.P.E. cache but Covid ruined it all didn't it.

Thank you for the cache here gmj3191

Quick multi in this nice park. We needed some fresh air and were looking for a urban park not too far from us. TFTC!

Thank you for a nice walk in the park!

Fixed hint
Sorry, I had contemplated relocating it during the park renovations, but changed my mind and forgot that I'd changed the hint.

Well, the original A.P.E. was archived 10 years before I found my first cache, but that tantalising icon continues to wink out at me on my profile page all these years later!

I can’t remember when I first solved the final coordinates for this multi. I think it was pre-lockdowns. And then the world changed and it wasn’t until this year’s Blue Switch Souvenir tapped me on the shoulder that I picked up the chase once more.

I don’t think I’ve ever been in this part of the park before. The new paths are looking good. At GZ I circled my prey, but have to admit the hint threw me - maybe it’s still for the previous hide?

Stepping back, I checked the gallery and then some logs to realise the CO himself had posted a spoiler photo!

Nice!

I returned to where I’d been searching and soon had the cache in hand.

TFTC Geoff, and Fave for maintaining this historical connection

Edit: Serendipitously saw a post from Parks Victoria after I’d logged this cache: [April 2023 Wattle Park upgrades](https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/projects/melbourne-region/wattle-park-upgrades)

It was getting dark as I parked up at the golf course and I wondered if it was wise in the dark. GPS quickly took me to the general area and it certainly had to be one of a number of possible locations. All of them had fairly dense branches etc so it was a great puzzle to work out how to get in and out. Thankfully my phone battery was close to 100% and I was able to use the torch to assist. Eventually came across a secure cache and signed the log, returning the cache to its sleepy hide. TFTC gmj3191

15:39
So far today, I've visited a library, bought a kayak, gotten SideTracked in Westall.

So now it was time to find somewhere to take a stroll... why not Wattle Park?

And find not an APE cache, but a tribute.

Getting the number to calculate the hiding place was nice and easy. The find? Well I spent way too long scrambling about. It would have been far quicker if I'd ignored the hint.

Good to see this able to be grabbed again, gmj3191.

Zaph, the second person to find the APE cache, is one of my high school friends. I didn't hear about Geocaching from him; in fact it was only after I found out about the existing ones and read the log for our local hide that I knew he was involved.

I think Quasar's comment after Jeremy archived the hide is the height of understatement:

"Perhaps the location was a bit too public."

#7423

At last, the work has been completed, the fence has been taken down, and this cache is open for business again.

Called by again this morning. The work, supposed to be finished by now, has not.
You can however see the refurbished track behind the barriers.
Hopefully not much longer.
Actually I found a way in (obviously not condoning this) and checked the cache. It was fine.

The new location is too close to another cache. Moving back to the original location as the work is supposed to be finished within the next few weeks, at which point I'll Enable it again.

Moved to a temporary location until this work is finished.

This cache is temporarily unavailable due to a large area of Wattle Park being fenced off for landscaping works.
Don't know how long this will take. If it's a lengthy issue I'll move it to a suitable nearby location.

After a bit of night time searching I found it

After dropping eldest son at uni nearby, I made the most of a glorious sunny morning and searched out a few caches.
I have been visiting this park since I was very young, as my grandmother lived just around the corner. When we visited her, we would often talk a walk to Wattle Park and play on the trams.
The park doesn't seem to be as well maintained these days, but the path to GZ was reasonable. The cache was nicely tucked away, found in good condition after a minute or so of fossicking around.
TFTC gmj3191

I looked around for a solid 1/2 hour bur nothing, I had a poke around at the trees but I couldn't find it

Finally found my first cache of the day after a few upsets!

After failing to find the other nearby multi I made an attempt at this one. Following “tracks” on my Cachly map I under up making a creek crossing without a bridge and eventually made it to GZ.

I thought I was going to have a second DNF as I made this find harder than it needed to be, looking at the wrong height.

Thanks gmj3191 for adding this cache to the worldwide collection for us all to find.

----------------------------------------------------------
Big things are continuing to happen! *Are you joining the fun again in 2022?*
[**THE**](https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC8EW40)
[**WHITTLESEA**](https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC8EW40)
[**EVENT 2022**](https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC8EW40)
19th / 20th November 2022 – GC8EW40 – Whittlesea – Victoria

Find #5145. Found @ 15:20 with The Good Lady Wife.

I'm often passing this park on the way to work (and trying to get to the office for a meeting) or on the way back home (when it dark and I'm hungry) so don't stop.

After a visit to the in-law's place nearby to perform one task (but always find that there are loads more than one) I wanted to stop off here for this cache.

We parked in the general parking region and walked towards the posted coordinates, but reading what was required along the way, I deduced that I didn't really need to visit. We happened to go past to confirm my theory on the way to GZ anyway.

Once at GZ it took me several rotations and a number of ingress journeys to uncover the nicely concealed container. I should resist grabbing the trackables within as I don't get out as much as I used to, but didn't and grabbed both.

As an aside, I started caching well after this cache had been and gone but discovered that I currently work (not too far away) with one of the original finders. He doesn't cache much but I'll see if I can coax him out of semi-retirement to make a book-end find of this one.

Took trackables, left nothing, signed log and visited some other trackables.
Thanks for the cache gmj3191.

An easy walk in to our calculated GZ and a quick find. Unfortunately Listmaker and I both came onto the scene to get the original.

Found with Alansee after having lunch nearby. So nice to see a big cache! The birds were singing happily as Alansee got his hands on the cache. Thanks for the cache!!

In marvellous Melbs again and stopped by this familiar park. Pays to poke around! I quickly calculated the coordinates once I had found out the value of 'n'. Like a lot of others at GZ it took a bit of wandering in circles before I made the find. TNLN. TFTC.

Nice to have a tribute to the original APE. One day would love to make the pilgrimage to Washington. At GZ we could see how this one might have been muggled quickly. Doing the numbers we headed off for a short walk. A few loops at GZ didn't reveal anything but a previous log got us at the right altitude to strike gold. Took the Nature TB for a ride to the next cache. Enjoyed a walk back to the car with the sounds of the band further in the park for accompaniment. TFTC

I had to drop Master frilk off for some Saturday activities in Canterbury so I decided to take advantage of 2 hours of free time by heading out for a walk and also grabbing this cache.

I quickly calculated the coordinates once I had found out the value of 'n'. At the GZ it took a bit of walking in circles before I made the find. TNLN. TFTC.

Worked out the likely value of n before I headed out but went to the tree anyway to double check my calculations.
At GZ I took a deep breath and jumped in and soon had the well camouflaged cache in hand.
TFTC

I’m not sure about other people but I found this a 3 out of five more than 1.5!!! And make sure you think like Echidna not a possum good luck

We had definite cache blindness here!
Rechecked co ords and even rechecked them with CO, so back again and it was actually glaring at us!!!
We always make things too difficult.
TFTC

I am fortunate to have found the APE cache in Washington a few years ago, it is in a great location, alas this original APE cache was poorly positioned, destined for failure. Being so accessible it met its fate by some local muggles for sure. I often wonder if a pamphlet drop/door knock in the surrounding streets might uncover it in the back of someone’s shed. (Could be an idea for an event) . If the original ammo can was found it could mean a reinstatement of the APE as this is what happened in Washington (somebody threw it over the edge of the path into a ravine)
I messaged one of the finders of the APE cache here, and they still have the t-shirt that was in the cache. I think quaser had sone relics too, donated to geostuff in Melbourne, wonder where they are now??
Cache found after circling and dropped 3 TBs that I’ve had way too long

Thanks gmj3191 for Once was an A.P.E.

#5371

TFTC. My second multi cache.

Great cache in a quiet spot. Best container I've seen in a long time too. Thanks gmj3191. Only my 2nd cache in a very long time

It was an absolutely perfect day for caching today, not too hot, not too cold and so we looked at the map to see what caches that quiet1_au had found that we hadn't and this was the closest one. We, too, have heard about the A.P.E. caches and knew one had been in this park but it was 8 years after that cache was archived that we started caching! At the first WP the final co-ords were quickly calculated and we set off for GZ. On the way there GMelb reminisced about the many hours and days spent in this park in his childhood as his Dad was The Foreman for the Wattle Park Golf Course in the 70's and so they lived nearby. He never quite made it as far as GZ, the creek was the limits of his playground. The mind boggles now that GMelb at between the ages 7-10+ of was allowed to wander alone or with friends of the same age, in the park! At GZ it took a while and a few circuits to locate the cache the well hidden cache.
TFTC gmj3191 and for bringing us to the location of the original A.P.E. - GJMMelb

Found by Rebel Acts

Another day out with Omegaman 1971 to clean up some of the new publications in the area, this is one of the caches we found on our travels of the area. It was a rather hot 35° today.

Thanks gmj3191 for the cache.

Having found a few caches in this general area over the years, but alas never the one for which this is dedicated , I figured that I'd give this one a shot today as I'd never been to 'GZ' as it predated my caching birth by a couple of years. (I know I could've done so by using the coordinates of *[Mission 8: Wattle’s Edge (GC1058)](https://coord.info/GC1058)* but I've never really bothered. )

With something to sign today though, I gathered the clues and mosied on over to the GZ for this one where, after a circuit or two of the structure at GZ, I finally had the stash in hand at 14:55.

TNLNSL. Thanks gmj3191.

Found by Omegaman1971

Out and about with Rebel on a warm Saturday to put some smiles on my local map. Let's hope it rains soon, hot! Damn hot!
Absolutely love the history regarding the A.P .E caches, unfortunately never had the joy of one.
Favourite point rewarded.
Cheers for the cache.

*Found on the 27 Nov 2021 @ 12:21 pm.*
*Cache find # 12067.*

I would of been great to have been able to find one of these APE caches but most of them were long gone before I even knew what they were and the 2 that are still available are not that easy for me to get to so this is as close as I am going to get well at least at the moment unless something big happens.
I headed to the posted coordinates and worked out the value of n, I soon had a new GZ to investigate, once there it wasn’t long before I had left my mark in the logbook.

**Thanks to gmj3191 for placing this cache.**

The coordinates were calculated quickly and the cache was found easily exactly where expected. Love being out and about again after lockdown.

Found with yhtacmck
Nice quick find once at the coordinates.
TFTC

Found with CMDYork - who took one for the team and dived right in. Found quite quickly, a nice robust container! TFTC

I found this cache today on my Nothing is Easy Today - Eastern Suburbs Tour. Ah, A nice pleasant little multi and the shortest to complete today by a long shot. Thanks from D B-A

Found with my daughter ‘honkeydonkey’ and a few new Geokids! Good fun!

Out on my own today to this my favorite park of memories. I came here for my Sunday school picnics way way back. Never been to this part though. Nice easy multi and and easy find. Thanks for the cache gmj3191

Found @2:46 PM #7902
As mention in the cache description seeking out a APE cache type was a mission like others have done. Back in late October 2017 I had an opportunity to get to the APE cache in Washington while traveling back from Alaska for work. Was very lucky with the timing of flights as it allowed me to land early in Seattle without needing to get the next flight to San Francisco till later that day. All went smoothly, hire car, drive out on wrong side of road, remember to stop for permit, get petrol, hike in then get to the airport without falling asleep. One of many vivid memories this game has created and better for it. Today a multi was needed for a challenge and was great to see where once a APE once laid. All good here.

Day 457 of ...
TFTC gmj3191

Very cool container, and a fun cache to complete with my family.

Out for my 5km from home ride and a few local caches. This was quickly figured out and found.... then the rain fell and I had to stay under the tree a good 20 minutes do had my lunch. Nice container.

Thanks to gmj3191 for the placement and fun.

My restaurant is only a block from here and we constantly drive past here doing deliveries but today I managed to work out GZ from home and the restaurant was fairly quiet so on the way home I stopped off here, grabbed the torch and headed into the jungle in search of the Ape.
I circled half the area and then dived in, stabbed myself in the side of the head with a branch and then found the cache. Don't worry, I'm ok. I am not logging this while lying on the ground in pain.
Thanks gmj3191 for the cache, the adventure, the hunt and the fun.

A lovely wander in a beautiful park. I learnt about an A.P.E. Great little multi, thanks gmj3191.

Prickly find this one ... good hide though!!

After guessing the wrong height for our initial calculations we deducted 1 and gz presented itself. After a quick search the cache was in hand. TFTC

We came to Wattle Park earlier in the year and found the other caches here and noticed this one popped up recently so headed back today for a walk and to explore some other parts of the park.

I head read up about the Project APE caches ages ago and it's interesting to see these kind of historical leftovers.

TFTC!

I had noticed Project A.P.E. caches on the list of cache types in my profile statistics but I didn't know what they were until I read the cache description. The Project A.P.E. cache in Wattle Park was archived well before I started caching.

Being only a couple of kms from home, so well within our lockdown zone, we decided to look for this cache today and also take the geobeagles for walkies in one of their favourite local parks. Even though we could guess from the formula what the required number of metres would be we went to WP1 to be sure. We were correct so we calculated the cache's co-ords and then wandered along one of the trails to GZ. There weren't many muggles in this part of the park. After a quick rotation of GZ we found a spot where we could get close to GZ and after a brief search we spotted the cache as it was slightly exposed. We retrieved the cache and signed the log at 3:40 pm. TN but in keeping with the theme of this cache we left a gorilla to nibble on the large plastic banana that was in the cache. We then returned the cache to its hiding spot and covered it with a bit more natural camo. We used hand sanitiser on the swap and also on our hands before and after finding the cache.

Thanks gmj3191 for this good multi and well-hidden cache and also for informing us of this interesting piece of geocaching history. After finding the cache we went for a long walk around the park. The geobeagles enjoyed meeting and socialising with lots of canines as they don't have to worry about social distancing. The cache was a bit bigger than we expected so we will return soon to drop a TB or two.

I have found a couple of caches in Wattle Park years ago but I am sure this original one predates my caching. The current one is fine. Thanks gmj3191.

The A.P.E. caches are a historical artifact for me, coming out as they did well before I began caching. I'm a little surprised as to why a suburban park (no matter how big) would be selected to house a cache that size although I suppose it is somewhat in keeping with the themes of the film.
In any event this multi was quickly calculated and a short walk later, the cache was found. Thanks to the CO for putting out another multi within metro Melbourne.

A lunchtime walk before the predicted rain the rest of the week/weekend spoils caching. GZ clear but took a few minutes to access and locate. TFTC!

Found at 09:21
The APE cache was gone a long time before I started caching but I have found a lot of caches in this park over the years and a great playground up the top for the kids. A nice walk and a pretty quick find this morning.
Thanks gmj3191 for the cache

Date: June 17, 2021 Time: 2:20 PM
Find #11615

On a mission to find a multi cache on every day of the calendar. It's going to take a while. I needed one today.

Took a late lunch break to re visit this wonderful park and of course find the multi. quickly worked out numbers and headed for gz where after a couple of loops, the well concealed container was located.

Thanks to gmj3191 for the cache and the memories.

Big things are continuing to happen! *Are you joining the fun again in 2021?*
[**THE**](http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC8EW45)
[**WANGARATTA**](http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC8EW45)
[**EVENT 2021**](http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC8EW45)
*13th / 14th November 2021 – GC8EW45 – Wangaratta – Victoria*

After re-arranging things a little, the cache was soon at hand. Thanks for the cache and bringing us here.

A cache or six with Mrs Papi4506 after work.
Narrowed down the x to 2 options. Upon re-reading the description, we settled on the lower of the two.
Headed off to gz and circled the obvious. Eventually spotted and squeezed in to retrieve.
Thanks for bringing us here today by placing this cache, gmj3191

#2031 - 9.50am
I learnt about the history of the A.P.E. caches about six months after I joined geocaching. I was amazed to learn that our very own Wattle Park had been chosen as a location for one of these ultra rare game pieces. Fuelled by naivety and an enthusiasm for discovering long lost, archived caches, I ventured to the site of the mythical A.P.E. to see if I could find any trace of it. But all I found were Geocaching Australia 'movable' caches overlooking the site where it had once rested.

If only I had known of Geocaching back in 2001, for at that time I was playing golf at Wattle Park every second weekend...
It took destiny another 15 years, however, to guide me to this incredible game, and by then the A.P.E. legacy was long gone.

A few years ago though, fate had a most unexpected twist in store for me. A chain of life shaking events caused such massive upheaval in my personal world that I suddenly withdrew from geocaching completely, such that I totally forgot about the game. It was a drastic shift from being an omnipresent, streaking 'hound' to an instant recluse.
All the while, the threads of my deep discord intriguingly conjoined on the other side of the planet, compelling me to make a quest I still struggle to fully comprehend.

I'd only ever been overseas once before in my life, but now I was somehow guided to make a 'pilgrimage' of sorts - to Seattle, via Kansas of all places!!
It really was as though I was on my own unique Yellow Brick Road journey.

I was so deeply consumed by my own personal turbulence that it took MONTHS after purchasing the plane tickets to realising that I was actually going to be visiting the home of Geocaching!
But then it struck me.
I was actually going to SEATTLE!!
This was a long forgotten bucket list item I had never truly believed I would ever get to tick off. Yet, here I was with the plane tickets in my hand, suddenly realising the once in a lifetime geo-opportunity they presented.

Once it dawned on me, I was instantly back in the game! I began planning geocaches to visit that I may never get the chance to do again. The road trip through America along 'The Yellow Brick Road' was spectacular!

I logged altitudes unavailable in Australia.

I claimed a FTF in the frozen mountains of Colorado.

I found mythical Jasmers...
Mingo.
Paul Barclay's Stash.
Tarryall
And Potter's Pond

I visited HQ.

And on 15/11/18, while every other geocacher I knew was preparing for The Parkville Mega, I made my way to the A.P.E. cache...

Mission 9 - Tunnel of Light.
It was my #1500 find milestone!

And despite the primate theme, I was glad I didn't encounter any flying monkeys at GZ!

(And, typically, I'm still yet to log it!)

The A.P.E. cache was, in one way, the culmination of my Yellow Brick Road journey as I travelled from Kansas back to Oz. And as I reflect back on my adventure today, I am still in awe of HOW I ended up there, on the other side of the planet, against all the odds, and against all reason and logic. It will always be an experience I look back on with reverence and amazement.

I'm still not quite the cacher I was before all this happened. But neither am I the same person I was before all this upheaval.
Much has changed.
I've changed.
My world has changed.
And even the world itself has changed.

There is just one other A.P.E. cache in the world left to find, and I doubt I'll ever get to Brazil to claim it.
But one thing I learned from this incredible American expedition was this - you just never know what the future holds.
I had never in a million years anticipated getting to Seattle, but there I was!
So who knows what tomorrow will bring?!

Thanks so much, gmj3191.
This cache is a wonderful tribute to an important moment in Melbourne's geocaching history. And furthermore, you've given me fresh inspiration to revisit (and log) one of the more significant experiences of my journey in Life, and in Geocaching.

Thank you

Find number 9568 at 2:10:11 pm on Tuesday the 15 June 2021
Had to go into Kew this afternoon to drop some stuff off and I was looking for a multi do do on the way home. Saw this come up yesterday but couldn’t get here, today will be fine.
How amazing would it be to find the original cache that was placed here although the chances these days would be about a billion to one. This replacement afforded a nice walk through the park on this rather pleasant winters afternoon.
**Thanks for placing this cache gmj3191**

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We’re all going to Wangaratta to participate in Victoria’s next Mega!
*Are you coming to join in the fun?*
[**The Wangaratta Event 2021**](https://coord.info/GC8EW45)
*13th & 14th November 2021 - GC8EW45 - Wangaratta - Victoria*

#1059
Less than a week left before I am back at work after an extended leave period, and with The Welder scoring an RDO today… I should not have been surprised that after kids drop off we headed ‘away from home’…. There is always one more cache to target!

Today’s target was this awesome cache that remembers the original A.P.E cache. Sadly, like many it was not a cache I collected nor a type that I have in my achievements. The Welder has often talked about how he managed to collect the A.P.E cache in America… lucky him! I think it will be awhile before I make it on an overseas trip now.

Wattle Park though, is somewhat a favourite place for me. I have fond memories of coming here as a little girl on family picnics with my Mum, Grandparents and cousins, climbing all over the trams. It was a time where the world was full of wonder and innocence. In recent years though, it’s only geocaching that has brought me back… it’s always a good excuse!

Thanks for creating this cache, for it is a great way to celebrate an important part of geo history. A nicely hidden cache too with some goodies inside. We collected one and left the other for the next finder. Thanks for the cache gmj3191